Shaking it in the name of the law

From the Law Society Gazette 15/04/10:

Think of belly dancing and what image comes to mind? To poetic Obiter, it is a scene of lissome ladies shimmering to exotic music while a handsome sheik, mesmerised, looks on.

But now, it seems, the dance is not just for ladies of the desert – it is also becoming popular back in Old Blighty, with quite a few women solicitors taking part. Obiter has gleaned this information from Link, the magazine of the Association of Women Solicitors.

City solicitor Jayne, for instance, says she had ‘hit the glass ceiling’ at work and so turned to belly dancing as something she could enjoy as an alternative to the ‘seemingly unattainable goal of partnership’.

Jayne is not alone. Law graduate Anita teaches belly dancing and is a member of a professional dance troupe, the Baby Bliss Girls. Aspiring solicitor Norsheen Bhatti, the Tory candidate for Stoke on Trent Central, also takes part, while Vanessa da Silva turned her back on a career in the law to become a successful international belly dancer.

What’s the attraction? All these women lawyers agree that belly dancing combines femininity, fitness and freedom of artistic expression. But best of all, it is an opportunity to sparkle in diamante – before putting the suit back on for work the next day, of course.

Wow!  I wonder if any of those ‘limboing’ lady lawyers ever feel the need to take a break a from the day-to-day drudgery of life in practice and burst into a rhythmic shimmying around the office?   If so, who wouldn’t want to work in that office?! 

I guess it could also prove useful perhaps as an effective means of pacifying aggrieved male clients. And don’t look at me like that – lawyers need to play whatever card they have to hand sometimes. ;-)

In all seriousness, though, I guess it’s a good outlet for the professional stresses and strains of working life, with much less stigma than other forms of recreational dance (read: pole dancing).  The real question, of course, is how long it will take for male solicitors to begin to feel left out and want to join the party?